Hamilton, ON- Even amid all the service errors, the ups and downs and twists and turns, the McMaster Marauders men’s volleyball team found a way. They kept battling.
The Marauders battled for consistency as they went five sets with the Waterloo Warriors on Feb. 9 before prevailing. They tried to find consistency on the service line, according to Marauders head coach Brad Douwes. McMaster had 25 service errors.
They fought with consistency with their outside hitters. “It’s nice to know you can win matches with your B performance,” Douwes added.
At the end of the evening though, the result was good enough to see them return to the top of the OUA standings.
The Marauders were in a battle throughout the game. Douwes saw them find solutions late in the match – especially in the fifth set – leading to crucial points.
Outside hitter Maxime Gratton felt the game was a roller coaster. He saw everyone fighting their own battles. However, they dialed it in for the fifth set. “A classic grinder of a match,” he called it.
When Gratton is fighting those battles, he tries to be in the moment. He thinks about what he has to do to have the next kill or next pass. How can I contribute in my own way, he asks himself.
Sometimes it’s not all about getting the kill or block. Sometimes it means digging a ball or making a pass. “Dialing into your role on the court and executing when you have to,” he noted.
As the teams continued to trade points, outside hitter Brendan Mills thought of their past experience. We’ve been in those moments before, he thought. We’re ready for it.
He went through his own ups and downs during the match, finishing with 14 kills and eight digs. He also fought through his own errors.
Mills said he’s always been a bit of an up and down player but it’s something he’s trying to get better at.
I’m going to get out of tough rounds, he reminds himself. It’s going to all work out.
Mills found he did a better job of that against Waterloo than the previous games. “Putting my errors behind me and coming through,” he noted.
Those around him see his potential when he does so.
“Brendan is really really good,” Douwes said. “We’re just not getting enough of his top end right now.”
The head coach sees moments where he’s brilliant…and moments where he and setter Robbie Fujisawa aren’t connecting the way they want them to.
Fujisawa and Mills have been connecting at a really efficient rate most of the season. “That’s sort of gone the last little bit,” Douwes noted. The solution comes from building up reps in practice – from talking about it as well.
Gratton called Mills’ potential limitless. “He has all the doors open in front of him,” Gratton said. “Keep working hard, have the head in the right space and work on the things that matter.”
Gratton saw Mills get back in the groove of things after being blocked early on. He saw Mills keep his attitude in check, stay composed and understand what he had to do.
He also noticed – amid all the team’s service errors – Mills take some pace off his own serve to keep the ball in play. That paid off for them.
“He did really really good,” Gratton said. “He played for the team today and that’s all we could ask for.”
When the evening was over, the team celebrated their graduating seniors – Thomas Williams, Tyler Pavelic, Evan Bremner and Ben Kerkhoff – as well as the win.
There’s only one more game in the regular season – a road contest against the York Lions on Feb. 16. A win means they would clinch the top seed in the OUA.
They go into the playoffs with a lighter schedule than before – only playing one game a weekend for the final two weeks of the regular season. This comes after playing two games a weekend for the first five weeks of the semester and the final weekend of last semester.
“One match this weekend feels really nice,” Douwes noted. “Two days off to recover feels really nice. The guys will take advantage of that for sure.”
The Marauders will head into the OUA playoffs with confidence, according to Mills. They’re ready and know they’re really good. Now, it’s a matter of being consistent with their serving and passing.
Gratton reflected on this season compared to the past few ones. Last year, they had an undefeated record going into the final weekend of regular season, having already clinched the top seed.
This year’s been more stressful, more of a battle, according to Gratton. They’ve lost four regular season games and have been a tighter standings race than before. Gratton knows there’s nerves going into the games – but they battle through that.
“We always have a good routine. We have a solid game plan,” Gratton said. “We just show up and…we do what we say we want to do.”
Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics